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Desjardins to buy Western Financial for $386M

Canada's Desjardins Financial Group offered to buy property and casualty brokerage Western Financial Group (WES-T) for $386.6 million in cash as it looks to strengthen its product offering in the western region of the country.

The $4.15-per-share offer is at a 69=percent premium to the Western Financial's Thursday close of $2.45 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The deal comes on the heels of two large deals in the Canadian financial sector, which has remained largely unbruised from the global credit crisis.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011, and Desjardins will also assume $56.4 million of debt, the company said in a statement.

Western Financial has agreed to pay a termination fee of $10 million to Desjardins if the deal falls through.